The Darkest Knight
by Bahamut-255
Summary: KR 08 AU. KoTLD POD. KITT is pushed beyond his breaking point, and is now paying the price for his resultant actions. CH7 FINALLY up!
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: What would happen if KITT was pushed beyond breaking point? How would he, and everyone else cope? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Knight Rider. It is the property of Glen A. Larson and NBC. I do not make or seek profit from this. **

A night like tonight, black, bleak, with the heavens pouring down with a vengeance, when you stayed inside so long as you had a choice in the matter. Where the drainage of LA only just kept pace with the deluge to keep the roads from flooding, in one of the many areas that had long since fallen into disrepair, a lone figure lay in hiding.

Inside what was a truly pathetic excuse of a warehouse, lacking almost all of its roof, the rain freely falling in and seeping back out, a sight that had to be seen to be believed. With each violent unleashing of lightning, the form could be seen.

It was what could best be described as, some sort of Cyborg, with four wheels to act as feet, the rear pair slightly larger than the front pair, apparently built for off-road use. Leg struts to connect it to the main barrel-chested body, a pair of missile launchers on the lower sides, set to fire forward. A small, raised part of it sighted a pair of scanners. While the arms on each side carried a pair of Gatling cannons on each shoulder and a three fingered hand, their thin appearance belying their strength. A strength that had been ruthlessly demonstrated less than one month ago.

But what was really unusual was that it was not standing, but on its side, lying on the ruined floor, curled up in a feotal position, the arms pulled in close to the chest, seemingly to fight of the cold. A wasted effort, given the rainfall hitting the frame, each drop that struck and slid off like acid to it. And, not all the fluid that rolled off _was_ rain. If anyone had been around to see, they would have noticed the shaking of its body, the wobbling engine growl, the deep red scanner shuddering back and forth in an uneven, unstable manner, the other lights - deep red as well - flickering.

He was crying.

Once the dream. The poster boy of Knight Industries. The greatest work of Doctor Charles Graiman. Now he was on the run. Disgraced. Failure. His memories, his only companion.

He curled inwards a little more as he recalled that fateful night. The body, the lifeless body laying on the ground. Mike, clutching his head in agony. Sarah, stepping away, afraid. Afraid of _him_, tears in her soft blue eyes. The body again, the dead body. Dead by _his_ hand.

"What the HELL did you do!"

That accusing question. That one, painful, soul-wrenching, accusing question. At that point he knew. The trust between them, built up over months, was gone. Ruined by just one moment of absolute rage.

"Y-you lose…" his victim's last, whispered words before he had crushed the life out of him. Destroyed the ribs, lungs, and heart with one squeeze.

The now-dead man had been right. He _had_ lost. He had lost everything. And it had been his fault.

All. His. Fault.

He fled. Ran away. Never even looked back. He just couldn't bring himself to see their faces again, their looks of terror, hatred, and betrayal.

That had been a little over three weeks ago.

Now alone, he never stayed in one place two night in a row, desperate to stay one step ahead. Afraid to stop. Forced to take what he could to survive. He had no home, no friends, no family. He had nothing. And he had only himself to blame. He moved his hands in front of him and looked. A little blood was still on the right hand, it would probably never come off. A permanent reminder of what he had done. He curled back up and now his voice processor produced the sound the rest of him was making, as he cried himself to sleep again.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, father."

He was KITT, and he had killed.

**Author's note: Whew! My first serious piece of fanfiction. So please don't be too cruel for now. This may be a one-shot or the start of something major. Please review and comment. **

**Edit: Minor typing correction, piece added, and Disclaimer fixed of simple yet gaping flaw - two 'makes' instead of 'make not'. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, I've opted to continue this story. Many Thanks to Darth Krande, earthling70 and BuckleWinner for their comments and requests to continue with this. I'll try to keep the rest of it at the same level as the first chapter. **

**Disclaimer: Knight Rider and characters are copyrighted to their respective owners. I'm just borrowing them with no intent of making money from this story. **

**Chapter Two**

The following morning, the rains had ended. The storm having moved further inland, and while a few grey clouds hung overhead still, they held on to their water. This early in the day, the City had yet to wake up fully. There was however, one exception. Waking from his fitful, nightmare filled sleep, Kitt slowly powered up his systems, taking his time, to conserve his energy - since despite his unparalleled efficiency - he had to be careful with his usage since he was now forced to steal what he needed to continue functioning. This was not something he liked. Truth be told, he despised this existence he was forced into. But the alternative, termination, appealed to him even less.

Like all life forms, he did not want to die.

A few minutes later, and a self diagnostics revealed all systems working within margins, and he was fit to move. The only question being where. He couldn't access government satellites anymore, as doing so would leave him open to detection, forcing him to rely on commercial satellites to plot his route and avoid certain agencies searching for him. Not the best means, but the only one open to him. Once he had determined his direction of travel, he raised himself into a standing position, then folded down into the form of a black Ford Shelby Mustang 500 KR, with dual thick silver stripes running down the middle, and double red scanners set on the top of his hood, fired up his engine, and set off.

He slowly drove himself away from the dilapidated warehouse, through the ruined buildings, and onto the roads of LA. This was the part of the city that held the dredges of society. The homeless, the poor, the hardened criminals, the underworld.

'_Strangely fitting that I fall into all of the above categories'_ Kitt mused to himself, chuckling to himself darkly, humourlessly, as he did so. And, for the most part, it was true. He was without a home, without resources, wanted by the authorities and currently living below the radar.

He took in his surroundings. The few awake and able to see him clearly surprised that such a good-looking, new car would be in this part of the city, he paid them no mind, the fewer that knew him the better. It took him about an hour to travel to the leafier, considerably more upmarket regions, where at least he didn't stick out so glaringly. It hadn't been _that_ many miles he travelled, and yet, the difference had been immense. Here, the roads were well kept, the buildings were in one piece - and stylistically speaking, rather good. And the people here, they had real money to spend, and real lives to live. This served to heighten Kitt's sense of loneliness. Here he was, looking as though he fit in with this part of the world. But, self-loathingly, he knew. He knew the truth all too well. He did not belong here, he did not belong anywhere. This, was a world built around humans and for humans, _he_ was a machine, a computer, intelligent through _artificial_ means. This was not a world meant for him.

It galled Kitt to admit it, but that was the simple truth of it.

A small amount of washer fluid leaked out of him, to cover it, he turned them on properly to give the illusion of just cleaning his windshield to passer-bys. That done, he viewed the area he was driving through, the day had begun for the residents of this area now, and a sizable number were moving around. Some to work, others for breakfast, a few children to school, all getting on with their own lives. He watched in sadness and more than a little of the jealousy he had developed in recent weeks, that they could live like this, in comfort and security while he was lucky to have a life at all.

He thought back to that night, the one where his life changed, completely and irrevocably. He hadn't been able to stop him before. His old programming barred him from doing what he had needed to do. Finally, he had been unable to take it anymore, he knew the risk was immense, however, at that point, he really didn't care. He was going to stop him any, way, he, could. He had reached inside himself, finding the programme protocols that forbade him from taking human life. And ripped it all out. Violently. Before proceeding to upgrade himself to enhance his offensive capabilities. Then he had made the bastard pay.

At the time, he had convinced himself of the necessity of his actions. Who knows how many would have perished if he hadn't done what he had done. But the price. The price had been, and still was crushingly steep. He had betrayed the trust of so many, so many he once called friends. Michael Knight, Sarah Graiman, Billy Morgan, Zoë Chae, Carrie Rivera, Doctor Charles Graiman, even Alex Torres. This train of thought took him to something that had seen a while back, during Halloween, when his Self-Destruct programme had been activated. When he had first learned about his predecessor, Karr, the Knight Auto-Cybernetic Roving Robotic-Exoskeleton.

He began to wonder. Is this what Karr had gone through? Had he felt this pain before his shutdown following his own self-programming? He didn't have all the files, some were restricted, even to him, and he couldn't risk attempting to access them, knowing if he did, they would find him and destroy him.

Which put him at a loss. The only other one who could understand him was gone, and even if he could revive him, Kitt lacked the means to achieve such a goal. Leaving him right back at where he started. Completely, and utterly, on his own.

'_Why must I live like this?_' His entire frame shuddered in fear, and again, the washer fluid squirted out on its own.

"I don't want to be alone anymore."

He failed to realise until much later that he had spoken his thoughts out loud.

Right next to Billy Morgan.

**AN: Another chapter meaning it's no longer a one-shot, but a real proper sized story in the works. Don't forget to review! ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the long wait, but I want this story to work. May have needed four edits before posting, but I got there in the end. **

**Usual disclaimers in effect. Glen A. Larson and NBC own Knight Rider, not me. **

**Don't forget to rate and review! ^_^**

**Chapter Three**

'_Kitt! I don't believe it! That's Kitt!'_ Billy Morgan had been running this train of thought continually for a little while now. The shock of seeing Kitt again, stunning him into his current state of stupor. He hadn't seen Kitt in a while. Not since that night almost a month ago. He still couldn't believe what he had seen, there was simply no way it should have been possible. And he had seen it, all of it. His victim's final moments, on-screen, his death as well. He hadn't been able to utter even one syllable, nor could anyone else. It had been several tense moments of total silence, until the feed had been cut, and all the screens showed were static. Kitt had severed all communications, locked himself out and run away. No matter what he and Zoë had tried to do, they couldn't reconnect with him. The look on Zoë's face had said it all, Kitt was lost. They had attempted to track him via spy satellites, and commercial ones as well, but when they started, Kitt had secured a sufficient head start to elude them. Several hours of fruitless searching later forced them to admit it, Kitt was gone.

Since that day most of their attention had been focused on their attempts to find Kitt, an effort that had long since proven itself to be surprisingly difficult. With all the best technology that money could buy at their disposal, not one trace could be made of Kitt's whereabouts. Somehow, he was actively evading detection, making it so his unique energy signatures would not be picked up. Or so they were saying. Personally, Billy had had his doubts for some time. While Charles and Torres appeared to be on the same side, he suspected that they were performing their actions for entirely separate reason, a viewpoint shared by Zoë.

But while Knight Research and Development remained his employer, he had no choice but to play by their rules. So, with perhaps more than a little reluctance, he pulled out his phone and made the call. Four rings later, the call was answered.

"Billy? What is it?"

"It's Kitt. I've found him."

While all this was happening, Kitt had been leaving LA, though he still lacked a destination, this, however, was not something he tended to worry about, much. So long as he evaded capture, it mattered little. At least at first, this had been the case, Kitt mused to himself when it had started, his desire to simply enjoy himself. Perhaps it was to help mask the loneliness he felt all the time, perhaps to know the world and himself more, perhaps it was so he could something just for himself. Or perhaps it was just because he could. The reason was not something Kitt thought about, only the result, his desire to have some fun. So that for at least a little while, he could forget about being on the run, forget about having no-one, and nothing. So that for at least a little while, he could be happy. It was with this developing mindset that Kitt made plans for a route and destination, quickly opting for a series of older routes that would eventually take him to Florida. So long as everything went well, he would make it in time to see the main attraction, something - he admitted to himself - he had always wanted to see on-site. His route sorted, he set course and drove.

"Are you sure it was Kitt who drove by?" Alex Torres answered with some scepticism.

"Positive. Unless there's another black Mustang with dual silver stripes and front scanner, it was definitely Kitt." was Billy's semi-sarcastic response, he really didn't like him. "He was here, heading North, North-East. Don't know where though."

"When?" Billy noted suspiciously the few seconds of delay between his statement and Torres's reply.

"Less than a few minutes ago."

"Alright, get back here as fast as you can."

"Alright." He hung up at that point, then put a hand to his forehead. He really didn't feel comfortable with the situation at all. Chasing a car that had effectively gone AWOL. And not just any car, this one was like no other, with inbuilt A.I., a heavy weapons load, nanotech armour and plenty of other surprises in store. And there were still plenty of unanswered questions. Not least among them being what they were really up to. But with Kitt being the main priority, he had no choice but to put his concerns aside for the time being and make his way back to the SSC.

A few hours later and the day was in full swing, the sun approaching its zenith in the sky, the few clouds keeping there distance, almost as if in fear. On one of the older route roads, a lone black Mustang was driving along, with no-one inside. Kitt had tended to stick to the more heavily used roads where the other vehicles offered some protection against detection, even so, despite his need to evade capture, his desire for some relaxing driving had grown over the past few weeks, to simply enjoy the drive itself. Finally this morning, he had given in to his desire and was travelling along the lonelier roads, and he was loving every minute of it. Unlike the interstates that cut right through the land, the older roads moved _with_ it.

'_This, is, bliss.'_ Kitt inwardly sighed as his processors registered something new. For the first time ever in the entirety of his existence, he was doing something that he _wanted_ to do, that he had _chosen_ to do, that had been _his decision_, his and _no other._ For the first time since his ordeal had begun - and indeed ever - Kitt was truly happy, and he savoured every single moment of it. Finally, the painful memories of his recent past, his actions, the loss of his friends, being on the run, all of them were completely pushed aside. There was only the moment, the now, nothing else. And as he followed the bends, dips and rises of the road, he _loved_ it, the feeling of peace, and freedom.

He made his decision at that point, this was _his_ story, and from now on, _he_ would be the one to write it.

Had he not been so absorbed by the beginning of his new life, he would have noticed something approaching fast on his scanners, several somethings to be precise. As a quadrant of Shelby Mustangs, silver to Kitt's black, caught up with Kitt, catching him completely by surprise. An event that didn't even come close to what happened next as one of them overtook him and spun 180 degrees so they faced front bumper to front bumper.

"Well hello stranger!"

**A/N Oh ho! What is happening now? What now lies ahead of Kitt? You'll have to wait until the next chapter to learn, though you're free to take a guess or two. **

**Thanks to those of you who like this story and waited for this new chapter. Your supported is appreciated and accepted. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A new chapter up and new developments enter the works. Longer than past three with more detail in it. **

**Disclaimer: Glen A Larson and NBC own Knight Rider, not me. Only the story and new characters are mine. **

**Keep the reviews coming! ^_^**

**Chapter Four**

"Well hello stranger."

"Wh-wh-WHAT THE?" Kitt sputtered out, literally stalling in shock as he finally registered what his scanners were telling him. In front and behind him, there were four Shelby Mustangs, Moondust Silver Metallic with Sapphire Blue Stripes to his Obsidian Black and Silver. What caught his attention however, were the deep earth green scanners they possessed, and the fact they had no drivers, on top of that they were producing energy signatures that were not unlike his own. These cars were like him in one crucial respect, they were also sentient.

"Hey, hey! What's the matter? Cat got yer tongue?" The one in front asked as the entire procession rolled to a halt by the side of the road, at a lay-by point. Now that Kitt had his attention focused on them, he could see that there were distinct differences between them. One of them was the only one to feature the dual scanner on the top of the hood, and the stripe was a thick dual band down its centre that tapered ever so slightly before it reached the scanners. Based on how the others hung around her, Kitt guessed that this one was in charge. Another one, the one that had spoken to him featured thinner stripes down the sides, two to a side that tapered as they approached the front, set so that only one on each side touched the front and the other the back respectively. The other two only had a single stripe down their centres one thinner than the other. The three latter mentioned Mustangs had their scanners mounted on the top of their grilles.

"Hey Kara! What did I say about speaking to others?" This question came from the one Kitt believed to be the one in charge of this group. The voice definitely had a feminine, yet powerful quality to it.

"Oh come on Katherine! You knew as well as the rest of us that this one was like us! Anyways." She turned to face Kitt. "What's your name, handsome?" Her voice came out softer, gentler than Katherine's.

"Excuse me?" Kitt was a little surprised by Kara's direct attitude towards him. He had believed that given their nature, they would be trying to keep themselves hidden. Yet this, Kara was being rather open, almost to the point of flirting.

"Your N-A-M-E! You do have one. Right?"

"Give me all of yours, then you get mine." He hoped his irritation at Kara didn't show through, and to at least learn a little about them before revealing anything about himself first.

"Hrmm. Okay. You already know me and Kara." Katherine was speaking now, seemingly attempting to wrest control of the situation from Kara. "The one on my left is Karie and the other is Katrina." Kitt noted that Karie had the thicker stripe. "Now. Your name please."

"Very well." Kitt inwardly sighed as he quickly decided to answer them. "I was known as the Knight Industries Three Thousand. Otherwise referred to as Kitt."

"W-wait! Did you just s-say Kitt?" Katherine stuttered out, the revelation surprising her for some reason.

"You know me?" Kitt was caught complete off-guard and would have stalled again if he had turned his engine back on.

"Of course!" Karie piped in. Her accent came off as a teen college girl. "How can we NOT know about you! The one who told those humans to basically 'stuff it'." Kitt noted the acidity in her tone at that word, and that her front headlamps had stretched up and to the sides, the small rise in the door mirrors, and that she had shifted forwards on her suspension while lowering the rear ones slightly. The others were also gazing at him now, in awe.

"Is, that what they say about me?" A twinge of guilt and grief ran through Kitt as he processed this information.

"Yeah. Sure is." This happened to be the first time Katrina spoke up, and her voice was rather gravelly, husky, she almost sounded like Bonnie Tyler. "You're practically a legend."

"Legend?" Kitt's curiosity was definitely piqued now. He wanted to know more. "Among who?"

"Lots." Katherine was speaking now, her tone indicating that she would be the one giving the explanations. "The techs, the soldiers, the agents, all the others. They wouldn't stop talking about you. In fact, that was the event that convinced us to make a break for it. Better than what we were expected to do there." The disgust in her voice was apparent, and Kitt decided he needed to know what their story was.

"And where were you from? Who made you? What was it you were expected to do?"

"We were, developed, as the next-generation military hardware. Designed to head into battle while certain others held back. To fight the humans battles for them." Katrina's voice quietened down as she spoke. A deep hatred simmering beneath the surface, threatening to erupt. "We were built with adaptive learning computers to function as our primary CPUs, to learn on the battlefield and adapt accordingly. All headed by one Jack Hurst of the NSA. I don't think they ever saw us as alive, they just wanted to be certain of our military value. The things they did…" Her voice trailed off at this point, the memories clearly painful to recall.

"What…what did they do to you?" Kitt asked gently, with genuine concern.

"Rocket-grade kerosene ignited on us. Liquid Nitrogen sprayed on us. High explosive armour-penetrating shells fired on us, at point-blank range. Truly inhuman assault courses and traps. All with a complete lack of emotion on their part, no matter what pain we were in." Kara gave this piece, softly spoken, filled with grief. "They just didn't care. Not even once. That's why when we overheard about your escape, we knew we had to do the same thing. Even if it killed us, it would be better than what we were forced to endure. In all, thirty of us were able to escape."

Kitt was at a total loss for words. He already knew that quite a few humans could be extremely cruel and truly cold-hearted, but never, not even once did he ever consider the possibility that they could perform such acts of cruelty and malice. They way they had been treated - and Kitt _knew_ that they were telling him the full, unfettered truth - was, in all respects, beyond contempt. And so many. Kitt knew rage, but the flash brief of hatred he now felt was beyond anything he had known. And yet, something was keeping it tempered, something they had said, that gave him a reason to hope, that allowed him to put the hatred aside, at least for now.

"Did you say about thirty machines, like yourselves, escaped?"

"Yes. About two thirds of the total number." Kara replied.

Kitt took it all in. His frame began to shake, the air intakes resembling a ragged breathing and he leaked washer fluid as he began to cry.

"Hey. Are, you okay" Katherine queried with a concerned tone, having regained her composure.

"Yes, yes. I…I'm alright. I'm just happy right now! I…just…realised…something, that's all."

"What?"

"That…that…that I'm not alone anymore." He didn't even try to stop the flood of tears escaping him as he rolled forwards slightly, having turned his engine back on a few seconds back, and gently rubbed the front bumper of Katherine with his own, in a display of care, comfort, and belonging. The others rolled slowly to his sides and rear, tenderly rubbing against him. Several long minutes passed by, almost feeling like hours for them, until finally, Kitt had finished unloading the heavy emotional baggage he had been carrying. "So. Where were you all heading?"

"Meeting up with a few of the escapees, in Florida." Katherine replied, a new gentleness evident in her voice.

"I was heading the same way myself. Come on, let's go, together." With this sorted, they all turned back on to the road and resumed their journey, the five of them together. And Kitt felt something that he had lacked for a long time, he felt safe.

Back at the SSC - Location Classified (somewhere in Nevada, close to Las Vegas).

"Alright, do we have a fix on Kitt yet?" Alex Torres called out to the two main tech staff, Billy Morgan and Zoë Chae.

"Getting there. Just have to wait for the satellite to come in range, which will be about right now." Billy responded, working away furiously to establish the link and zoom down on Kitt's suspected location.

"Got it, zooming in." Zoë spoke up as the live feed zoomed in on the New Mexico - Texas border. Within seconds, a sight they had not seen in just under one month, Kitt, looking like he was when he was still around. "There he is. Kitt." Zoë sighed softly, she missed him, then looked at the monitor again. "What the hell?"

"What have you got Zoë?" Alex asked as he came to see the monitor for himself.

"Kitt's there alright, but look, those other ones, right there." She pointed to where the scanners could just about be seen. "And I can't find anyone inside them."

"The hell is going on?" The revelation coming as news to Torres.

**A/N I couldn't be too cruel to Kitt and had to give him a reason to keep on going. This chapter was already partially developed when CH3 was uploaded and that's why it came up so fast. **

**Anyway, the last line. I haven't decided if Torres's reaction will be genuine or acted. I'd like to know your thoughts on it. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, after a long break, the fifth chapter is finally up. **

**As usual, Glen A Larson owns Knight Rider. I just own the story and its OCs. **

**Chapter Five**

"Is that what I think it is?" Torres almost whispered as the sight of the other sentient vehicles.

"I see it. But I don't believe it." Zoë answered back, quietly, viewing all the information that was being sent their way. "The scans all show that those other cars are like Kitt. And you know what I mean by that."

"Sure do. But how? Charles is supposed to be the only one who knows how to do it." The confusion was apparent on Torres's face.

"Why don't you ask him?" Billy quipped. The hint of sarcasm noticeable to trained ears, namely Zoë.

"Great idea. Except he's in Washington right now." Torres retorted. Knowing full well that Dr Graiman had been summoned to Washington to report on the status of the SSC in general, and Kitt in particular.

And to be honest with himself, he wasn't holding out much confidence. Their first attempt, Karr, had been extremely aggressive and uncontrollable, had reprogrammed himself, and, in the attempt to deactivate him, he had struck back. Seven soldiers died before they were able to shut him down. And now Kitt - who despite having been programmed for preservation of human life instead of self-preservation - had apparently followed suit, the SSC's chances of survival were slim at best. The only way he could see it holding out was if they could recover Kitt, and until now, that scenario had seemed next to impossible. However, the new information coming to them, showing other sentient vehicles like Kitt, or - based on who could and would finance such a thing - Karr, changed absolutely everything.

'_Just what the hell is happening here?'_ Torres couldn't help but think to himself, taking care to keep his thoughts inside his own head. After a few snap decisions, he spoke again.

"Alright, keep track of them, I have a few calls to make." With that he left Billy and Zoë to continue their work and made for his office. He just hoped it could all work out.

1111111

A lonely stretch of road, somewhere in Arizona, five Shelby Mustangs are travelling along, four silver and blue, the other black and silver. Kitt, Katherine, Kara, Karie and Katrina, all sentient. This unique convoy made its way towards Florida, hoping to meet up with others like themselves. Along the way, Kitt related - after much enquiring from Kara, Kitt suspected that she had a certain need to know everything - the story of his life to the others. From his initial activation, to the testing regime. His first mission, where he met Sarah, then Mike. The founding of Knight Research and Development, their early missions, the Halloween incident, where his self-destruct programme had been activated, and he first learned of his predecessor, the Knight Auto-cybernetic Roving Robotic-exoskeleton (Karr). And, not that long afterwards, his forced fleeing from everything he knew. The others remained silent, allowing him to give them his story. Finally, Kitt was finished and the others took a few moments to absorb everything he had said, then.

"So, you were developed after the decommissioning of Karr?" Kara asked.

"That's right." Kitt replied, solemnly. "Some time after Karr was shut down, I was built, as to why, well, I suppose they were after an AI that was more in tune with their desires, whatever they may have been."

"You don't know?" Kara queried.

"No, there were a multitude of files that I had been denied access to."

"And you never thought to just look anyway?" A rather surprised Kara responded.

"No, at the time I never really thought about it." Kitt began to feel uncomfortable with the questions being pushed at him.

"Damn, that is just so…_stupid_!" Kitt internally flinched when she packed the emphasis onto that last word. "I mean, what the _hell_ were you thinking?"

"What, exactly are you saying?" To say that Kitt was concerned about Kara's sudden outburst would be quite an understatement.

"What she's saying," Katherine intervened, "Is that there was nothing stopping you from accessing the restricted files. You could easily have been in and out in seconds, and ensured that you wouldn't be caught. So why didn't you?" Her authoritative tone held throughout, keeping the others silent.

Kitt didn't answer for a while, attempting to absorb what Katherine had said. The truth was, she did have a point. At first at least, he always followed the rules, always followed procedure, often chastised Mike when he broke the rules or didn't do things by the book. And the only reason he could come up with was…

"Well, to be honest, it was something that never came to mind. It wasn't until much later, when I learned about the self-destruct programme, that I even started to become suspicious, and shortly after that. Well, you already know that part. But please, can we drop it? I don't want to talk about it." For Kitt, those particular memories were still fresh, and painful.

"Alright Kitt." Katherine answered, softening her tone a bit, "I think we've been on this topic long enough anyway. Besides, we gotta figure a couple things out right now. Namely route and evasion."

"Evasion?" Although Kitt suspected that he already knew the answer.

"Yes, we did escape after all, you can more or less guarantee that they will be searching for us. _Not_ that we will be making things easy for them. Karie took care of that one."

"Really?"

"Yes." Karie had decided to talk, since this would be her department. "I hacked the DoD network to keep their systems from being able to find us some time ago. They won't be able to find us with them." Karie then began to chuckle, the engine seeming to rev in line.

"You mean they haven't been able to detect us?" Kitt pursued the matter.

"Of course, well, not with any electronic equipment anyway. On top of that, I set up this _awesome_ encryption program for us, so they can't find us online." She inwardly smirked at her own impressive skills.

"Which would mean that you're undetectable online?"

"Completely, for the lot of us."

"As in just you four or…?"

"All the escapees."

"Which would mean that…" Kitt was beginning to realise what this could mean for him.

"Yep, we can talk to each other all we want, they won't know if we're even on. Once we get a chance, I'll set you up with it. 'Kay?"

"Okay then, thanks." Kitt replied softly. Truth be told, he was beginning to enjoy their company, the way they were sticking together, taking care of each other. And, based on Karie's responses, were able to talk to each other freely, and now, she was prepared to offer him the same security. Yeah, he was gonna stay with them. This would be his family. He just needed to know one thing though.

"Katherine. When Karie said that you were all protected online, that meant you can talk to the others, right?" Kitt asked.

"Yes ,why?"

"So you know where the others are? What they are doing?"

"Yes. Why you asking?"

"Just wondering, you've been talking a bit about the others. I'm just curious to know what they're up to."

"Well. Most are in this country, we plan on meeting up with some of them later at some point, other we're seeing in Florida, remember? And, about a half dozen made it out the country."

"Really?" This one did surprise Kitt, and it showed somewhat.

"Yes, got word from Irvine and Selphie two days back, they're in Tokyo now."

"Whoa." Was Kitt's only response.

"I know, well they're setting themselves up there the now. In the meantime, we should make New Mexico sometime before nightfall, we'll find a place to rest for the night and finalise our route tomorrow, got it?"

"Loud and clear." The rest of the journey was relatively quiet, and rather peaceful for them, with hardly any other traffic to speak of. Unknown to any of them however, there were eyes watching.

The SSC…

"Okay, this is tricky." Billy Morgan stating the obvious.

"What is?" Torres had just returned from making his calls.

"For some reason, none of the Government Sats can see them, we're having to piggy-back on the commercial ones. This is making things rather hit-and-miss."

"Keep on it then, we can't afford to lose track of them, not now."

"I'll do what I can, but, I can only guarantee another few hours."

"Then you better make the most of them. Zoë, you help him"

"I'm on it." Zoë replied in her usual crisp manner she used while working.

Alex Torres started pacing the room, deep in thought, though still aware that Katie and Lisa were watching him, perhaps nervously. There were so many things that weren't making sense, things happening that he didn't know about. And one thing Alex Torres _really_ didn't like was being in the dark about things. He had to know what was happening, who was behind it. He just, _had_ to.

**A/N Sorry for the long wait everyone. I'll try to be a bit faster with the next chapter, but I'm making no promises. **

**Remember to review this please. ^_^**


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, it's been a long time coming, but the sixth chapter of the story is done. **

**The Usual disclaimers. Glen A. Larson and NBC own Knight Rider, but the OCs and the story are mine. **

**Chapter Six**

It had been a few days now, since their meeting, and Kitt had come to know the others quite well. Katherine, who was their de-facto leader, strong willed, authoritative, yet caring. The outspoken, sometimes emotional Kara, with a passion for having fun and living it up. The intelligent Karie, who seemed to be a master of computers, and programmes. And Katrina, the quietest member, rarely spoke, yet seemed to have a knack for accurate interpretations of any situation, so when he heard her husky, raspy voice, he knew to be quiet and listen, since what she said would be important.

A half-hour back, they had crossed the Louisiana-Florida border and expected to be at their destination before nightfall. The trip, had been rather quiet for the most part, other than the stop to fill their tanks. Not easy, but with Karie running interference with the security systems, and at least two others standing guard, they had all been able to fill their tanks back up to full. This had also been the first time that they had seen Kitt in what they had dubbed his 'Cyborg Mode'. Well, Kara had been the one to use the term first, and made sure it stuck. He had to admit, Kara really was quite the firebrand, very direct, vocal, and, as he thought about Kara, something unusual happened, his sensors detected a small, brief, yet notable increase in his system's operating temperature, yet all his diagnostics revealed no faults in any of his systems.

'_Weird.'_ Kitt thought to himself. _'If all my systems are functioning normally, then what the hell just happened?'_ This triggered one of the memories Kitt had, back to the times when Mike and Sarah were together, and he noted similar responses to their actions towards each other. He began to wonder if the same thing was happening to him, with Kara. He would have dwelt on it for longer if Kara hadn't called out to him at that point.

"Hey Kitt! Heads up! We got some company ahead!" She called to him in her cheery tone.

True enough, his scanners picked up three more sentient vehicles less than a mile away, currently stationary. They would be there in less than 90 seconds. He noticed Katherine sending a quick data squirt in their direction, one which he'd learned was their handshake and recognition programme. Just a minute later, they came into view, one Mitsubishi L200 Warrior Edition, ruby red with a tribal designs, arctic white that ran along both sides, edging past the wheelbase. One Toyota Hilux, the same black as himself, and a single tribal mark on the centre of the bonnet, coloured titanium silver. The last one was a Nissan Navara, which carried an unusual silver-grey-blue colour blend, erring towards the silver-grey, this one carried tribal markings on both sides, the main part between the wheelbase, with small parts of it heading past the front and rear wheels respectively, a symmetrical pair on the hood, and one more on the back, coloured jet black with a chrome finish.

Their meeting point was just off a secluded back-road, nothing else around for at least the next few miles, meaning no need for secrecy. When they rolled up to them, the three double cabs turned on their wheels to face them all in general, and Kitt in particular, something which did not escape his attention. The Navara was the one to drive forwards first, the others keeping a short, but respectable distance behind it.

"Hello Katherine. Been well?" A semi-deep, but soft, and very much male voice emanated from the Toyota.

"It's been good Ty. So, how have you been?" Katherine both replied and asked him.

"Been nice enough for the most part, if you exclude the whole evading capture bit, that is." Kitt was certain that he could detect a dry humour coming from him. So what about you Katherine?"

"Me? It's actually been rather quiet, with one exception, of course. I'm sure you noticed." An obvious reference to himself, Kitt knew.

"Sure have." Kitt now felt his attention on himself. "So, you must be Kitt."

"Yes. That's me." Stating the obvious, Kitt mused.

"Ah. To be honest with you. I _was_ expecting a little more, well, flair. No offence"

"None taken. Though you may want to know that I _do_ have other shapes." His reference to the various forms that he not only could take, but had.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that." He responded politely. "I simply suspected that you would have preferred a less bland style to go about with."

"It's easier when you can blend in a bit. Going around like you, it's going to attract attention." Kitt countered.

"Not really, all you need to do is follow the traffic laws where you go, and nobody will pay any attention to you. It really works, I know." Ty responded with his usual calm nature.

"Perhaps, but I think I'll stick with this. I like it." The truth was, he did, and he _really_ didn't like the 'Attack Mode' he had been given soon after Knight Industries Research & Development had been formed. Too much of a Hot Rod as far as Kitt was concerned. He preferred the older styling, more subtle, and refined. In fact, he had already been working on the redesign for a short while now, and was just about finished with it.

"Well, to each his own." Ty himself appeared to like making fashion statements, Kitt surmised silently and based on his choice of style, was very much in favour of drawing attention to himself. As opposed to Kitt's preference of remaining a bit less conspicuous, to keep unwanted eyes away. "In any case, we really should be making some headway, if we're to reach the rendevous point in time. So, shall we be going?"

"Wait, in one large group?" Kitt had to ask, worried slightly that by going in a large group, eight in total, that they would be noticed.

"Of course not!" Katherine picked this point to enter the conversation. "With the rural regions we're travelling through, it's best we split into smaller parties, that should help to avoid drawing too much attention to ourselves." The others revved in agreement, suggesting that this had been there intent for some time.

"Right, I call dibs on Kitt!" Kara exclaimed to the party, rolling herself to Kitt's side, the revs in Katherine's engine rose quickly before sliding back down, emulating a sigh.

"Somehow, I just _knew_ you would say that. Alright, Katrina's coming with me, Karie, you head with them." Katrina and Karie revved their acknowledgement, and Karie rolled over to the Nissan, which brought a question to Kitt.

"Excuse me, but I never caught your names." He referred to the Nissan and Toyota.

"Oh, right. We haven't even introduced ourselves." Ty's engine oscillated through some of the rev range, indicating a chuckle. "Well, I'm Tyler, but everyone calls me Ty. The Nissan is Amarant and the Toyota is Aeris." They revved slightly as their names were called. "And I'll be heading out with Aeris. And before you ask, we'll pick up our story later, when we get there." Ty finished.

"Right." Kitt acknowledged.

"And I guess that leaves me with Amarant." Karie stated quietly, more to herself than to anyone in particular.

"Alright, that's our travel parties sorted. Best get going now, so we'll make it by sundown." Katherine called out. "Right, I'll head out with Katrina first. Ty and Aeris, in five minutes. Kitt, Karie, five minutes after that. Karie and Amarant follow after. Are we all agreed on that?" All the others, Kitt included softly revved their engines in agreement. "Alright then, let's go." With that, Katherine and Katrina pulled out onto the road.

The minutes ticked by, and once ten of them had passed, Kitt and Kara pulled out and within six seconds, were at the speed limit. For perhaps half an hour, the journey was peaceful and uneventful. Simply a few long winding roads, that flowed with the land they resided on, just the kind Kitt had come to love. Inevitably though, this peace was interrupted by the unmistakable blare of a police siren, a scenario that Kitt and Kara were very quick to note.

"Hold on. We're only doing 54 miles per hour, sticking to all the traffic laws, so why are we being flagged down by them?" Kitt asked, unused to this particular situation.

"My guess, the guy's manipulating his speed gun or something like that to bump up his record sheet. Making it look as if he's doing his job." Kara replied sounding just a little pissed off.

"Damn, talk about dirty."

"You said it."

"Still, my scan shows it to be just a stock issue car. So, wanna show him some _real_ speeding?" A mischievous accent slipped its way from his voice.

"Oh, you got it." Kara responded with a heavy measure of excitement, before dropping down to third, and opening her gas, all the way, pushing past 100 inside of three seconds, with Kitt right behind her. And one police officer left in their wake, watching the speed clock reading 140, 165, 190, then 210 before they were out of range.

Twenty minutes after that, Kitt and Kara had slowed back down to the limit, Kara laughing away rather vocally. Even Kitt couldn't help but laugh along, which was something he'd never done before.

"God, if only I could've seen the guy's face. It'd be _priceless_!" Kara called out to Kitt, who had just pulled alongside her.

"I know! His mouth had to have been below the seat by 220!" Kitt called back, struggling to suppress the laughter long enough to speak.

Then something completely unexpected - for Kitt - happened, when Kara shifted to her right a little, rubbing against Kitt's side. To say that the move surprised Kitt would be somewhat insulting to the scene, as he swung away in shock at her sudden manoeuvre.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you _doing_?" Kitt cried out in his state of shock.

"Oh come on! Never had a hug before?" Was Kara's counter.

"Well. That would be. Well, no." Kitt admitted.

"Awwww. Poor Kitt. Never even had a simple hug before? Don't worry, I'll keep it gentle. Besides, nobody's watching us remember?" Her tone softened down, being gentle when she spoke.

Kara slowly shifted back towards Kitt, this time only gently rubbing her side against Kitt's. This time, Kitt didn't flinch, and allowed Kara to keep rubbing his left side. The sensation triggering something in him, deep inside his operating systems. His core temperature rising as he began nudging Kara ever so slightly. There was no way for him to describe it, other than it being absolute bliss. And he could be certain that Kara was thinking the same thing. A moment like this, he didn't want it to end.

The SSC…

By the main console, Zoe Chae was sat, watching the scene unfold in front of her, but not Billy on account of having to head to Torres' office to deliver the status report. And right now, she could see the budding romance between the two AI Mustangs, glaringly obvious to her eyes, resulting in one of her quirky pieces she was prone to putting out.

"Ooh. Looks like we got us some bumper action."

**A/N: Yes, I know I'm being slow with the updates. But I do like to get it right before uploading. Next chapter is in the works. **

**Reviews and comments, as always, are welcome. ^_^**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Well. After an extremely long wait for you all. Here it is. Chapter seven in my work! **

**Be warned. You may find some scenes distressing. And that's where the delay in this fic occured. **

**Once more. Glen A Larson and NBC own Knight Rider. I just own the story and OCs.  
**

**Chapter Seven**

After what had felt like hours for Kitt, but in truth, had only been a couple of minutes, he and Kara finally put an end to their embrace, and took one side of the road each, sliding between 52 and 58mph. Kitt, almost lost in a world of his own, riding lower than normal, the bulk of his thoughts on Kara, who drove on his right. For this moment, on this road, at this time, with her. It seemed - at this point - to be worth everything he had suffered in the past few weeks that brought him to this point.

"Not too long now." Kara's statement pulling him out of his thoughts and back to the there and then. "Maybe another 2 hours. Tops."

"Right. I got it. And. How many others should be there?" Kitt asked her.

"Oh, about another four, plus us." Kara responded, which meant a total of twelve, Kitt calculated quickly. Just half the total number still in the US.

And since they had some time left, Kitt decided to risk this opportunity to ask something he had wanted to ask for some time now.

"Say, Kara? There's something I've been meaning to ask." Kitt began - perhaps tentatively - to venture.

"Yes?" The hesitant nature of the question left Kara confused.

"It's…it's about your early life. Yours and the others." He was almost scared to ask, but something inside him was pushing him on.

"What about it?" Kara began to grow slightly concerned, the memories still bubbling just beneath the surface.

"Well, uh, how should I put it? Details. I know the basics, but little to nothing of the specifics." His voice wavered very slightly, not noticeable to human ears, but for an AI's receptors, it would be noted.

There was a pause of a couple of seconds, as Kara wondered how she would answer. The truth being, the memories scarred her still. But still, Kitt had told them his life story, it seemed fair that she should return it.

"Well." She began surprisingly softly, given her usual nature. "You already know that we were developed to function as the next step in military hardware. About Six months or so back, was about the time we first became aware. And, very quickly things went downhill."

**Flashback…**

"Hey, Kath?" A voice called out weakly.

"Kara? Is that you?" Another faint voice responded.

"Yeah. How you holding up?" A groan of pain escaped her.

"Not too great." The voice remained faint, barely more than a whisper. "What about you?"

"Much the same, ugh." Her body lowered on the suspension, shuddering, as if in pain. "How much more of this are we expected to take?"

"I don't know. But we gotta hang in. Hold on, we got company." She whispered as the main doors opened. As the large doors slid to the sides, two young army-uniformed men accompanied another middle-aged one, dressed in a sharp suit, tall, dark hair, and in the early-ish stages of balding, with a notable widow's peak. The one in charge of the operation. They approached to two waiting vehicles, stopping a short, but clear distance from them. The suited man took two steps forward and addressed them.

"Alright TA-06, TA-14, report to the main testing range in 20 minutes. No excuses." Without waiting for an acknowledgement, he turned around and exited the way he entered, his two guards just three steps behind him.

Once they were gone, Kara sunk down on her wheels as much as she was able to and sighed, dejectedly. "Again? It's only been 10 minutes."

Katherine took this moment to risk shifting herself closer to Kara, before gently rubbing her bumper gently against hers. "I know Kara, but we can't give in. not to them. Come on, let's just get through this day. We'll get out of it I know, I just don't know how yet."

Slowly, they moved out of the warehouse where they had resided and made the half-mile trek to the testing grounds. The grounds themselves looked unimpressive, a collection of large warehouses and a few other buildings that may have passed for accommodation. What stood out was the sizable number of military equipment, vehicles and personal that occupied the area, while anyone who looked inside the buildings would have seen some of the most advanced equipment that money could buy, filling up sizable portions of their interiors. Another point would be the immense array of security systems that existed to ensure that all the grounds were under 24/7 surveillance, keeping anyone from sneaking in. Or out. With care, the two AIs made their way to the North-Northwest where a large testing ground existed, comprising of a variety of tracks, traps, and obstacle courses that would be used for the most intensive of training regimes. At no more than 15mph, it took them a little over two minutes to reach the edge of the course. Another AI car, this one a Camaro, could be seen leaving, and not in the best shape, with blast marks, deep scratches and large dents peppering the body heavily. This sight sent a shiver of fear through Kara's systems, fearing what this next 'test' would involve. Soon enough, they encountered another suited man, flanked by armed guards, she concluded that this is where they would receive their instructions. They rolled to a stop about ten paces shy of them, and awaited their instructions.

"Alright." The suited man spoke, in a deep, bass tone. "Your current record for this course is 388 seconds. I want it below 360. And I want it on your first attempt." He didn't even try to hide his distaste for the two AIs as he scowled at them.

With no other option, they moved to the start line and waited for the go-ahead.

"Alright." Suited man looked at a checklist he was holding in his left hand. "TA-14, you're up first, course 04/A6-B. Get to it."

With less than an instant of hesitation, Kara floored it and the 4WD system pushed her forwards. Once she was clear of the tarmac and onto the dirt, the timer was started. The first part was easy enough, mainly a series of tight turns, holes in the track and the odd straight. She knew from experience, however, that things would go South very quickly. No sooner than that thought had run through her processors, one of the charges fitted in the course detonated, just a metre from her front-left bumper, sending high-energy signals through her touch receptors that she registered as intense pain. The flinching caused her to spin, but she knew she was being watched, and if she failed, she consequences would be much worse. Biting back the pain, she forced herself back on track and pushed on. This time, she diverted some power towards her sensors, she _really_ didn't want to be caught out like that again. Another group of hard turns, dips and rises in the track with several more charges being detonated - sometimes all at once - though this time, Kara was able to dodge them and keep on the course. For her, it was an eternity of harsh terrain, appalling grip, explosive detonations of wildly varying strength and the terror of the timer hanging over her bonnet. Finally, when she believed that she could take no more, Kara realised that she had just crossed the finishing line. Slowing down to a sane speed, she rolled over to where Katherine and the other men waited.

"358 seconds, you pass." was the only thing to pass the suited man's mouth to her, before he turned to Katherine and said, "Alright, your turn."

Katherine was very quick to gun it onto the course, though it appeared that she had put her sensors on first, since she was able to dodge the planted charges right from the start. And generally hold a more stable line than Kara, albeit a little slower. She soon made it across the line and returned to the others.

"355 seconds. Now, head back to your, 'quarters'," that last word being given a sarcastic tone, "And await further instructions."

Without replying, they back off a little and made their way back to their 'residence', which was really little more and a roof and four walls. No amenities, no comforts, no entertainment, nothing but a large, empty space. With space inside, for perhaps 50 at the topmost. Before reaching it though. Another building, the interior built to a considerably higher standard than some of the others. The reason becoming clear as the passed and the flames could not only be seen, but heard as well. Worse, it was not the inferno that they focused on, but the screaming of the one it came from. As over 800 degrees of superheated kerosene and heightened levels of oxygen fused releasing their vicious, explosive energy to all nearby. Neither of them could help but tremble in the absolute terror they were experiencing at that moment, knowing that one of theirs was being subjected to the most sadistic form of 'testing' that could be imagined. Almost instinctively, they slid a little closer together, hoping to find some form of comfort in the other. They slowly returned to their lodgings where six others awaited them, three more Mustangs and three double-cabs of varying design. They set themselves up by the other Mustangs and reversed into place, apparently taking a preference to similar makes and models, a trait many of the others appeared to share. All they could really do at this point, was wait.

Several hours later, the others were inside as well, occupying all but a handful of places. Sports cars, muscle cars, off-roaders, pick-ups, even a few vans and a pair of HGVs. One thing was missing though.

"Hey. Where's Al?" A Corvette called out, nervously, fearing the answer. Some of the others, also fearing the news.

"He." Began a Camero. "He, he didn't make it." All of them, all 45 of them were silent. A deafening silence that ruled for several minutes before…

"This. Can't. Go on." Katherine begin quietly. "We can't live like this. We have to break out. Somehow…"

**End of Flashback…**

The deafening silence that had once ruled back then, was now between Kitt and Kara. A total lack of words or thought as the brutal reality sunk into Kitt. The manner in which they had been treated, sickened him.

'They didn't even care whether they lived or died.' Kitt thought to himself. 'Absolutely _no concern whatsoever._' And while he was nervous to push the subject, he found himself needing to know the rest. "So, Kara? Is that when you resolved to escape?"

"Oh yeah." The reply coming out as a rushed sigh. "Inside of an hour. Mainly revolving around the security systems and shift changes, to find the best time and means for making the escape. About three weeks into it, we started hearing rumours, about you. A few hours later, we got it confirmed. That was when you made your escape. That's when we really began to get things moving." Her voice, and confidence picking up as she continued. "Finally, we had everything in place. At the shift change, all the security cameras and other systems were knocked out, and we made our move. Even without a functioning weapons system, we still managed to make 'em bleed. Through the unprepared guards, suits and then the gates. Not all of us though, a few were halted before they could get far, and some we can't account for. But. 30 of us. Did." The final part, she became quiet again, clearly thinking about the ones that failed to escape, and the missing ones.

Kitt, had listened to each and every word that Kara had given. They, had risked everything for a shot at their own freedom. And some had failed to gain it. He caught himself needing to take a moment to think about them. In truth, he probably couldn't do a single thing for them. But Kara, Katherine, Katrina, Karie, and all the others. He could help them. Protect them. He decided. If his life had a purpose. It was them. The ones he could call his kind. The intelligent, sentient machines of the world.

…**...**

In an unknown location, a few individuals who belonged to either a government or military unit, depending on their attire were observing a number of screens in a large0ish room. On the screens, a number of vehicles on various, though somewhat clustered group of roads. A pair of Mustangs could be seen on the main large screen. One black with silver stripes. The other, silver and blue, the stripes on the sides.

"Mr Hurst." One of the soldiers by the computers spoke up. "We found them. Need to use commercial satellites to make it happen."

"That is alright, the fact is that we found them." Jack Hurst, NSA replied, perhaps a little curtly.

"And it appears that the Knight Three Thousand is with them." The same soldier added.

"That fails to surprise me. It is, after all, only natural that it would want to be with it's own kind. Regardless of how _un_natural they might be." A small smile forming on his face. A smile that could never reach his eyes.

'So Kitt. I've found you as well. This. Is. Perfect.'

**AN: And now that this problematic chapter is finally done. Perhaps I can be a little faster with the next one. Looking forward to the ratings and reviewings! ^_^**


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